The summer of 2012 say Ayrshire three piece Brown Bear & The Bandits play festivals across Scotland, including T In The Park, as well as further afield.  They were the winner of the Best Acoustic Act at this year's SAMA's and have been tipped for bigger things by many.  We caught up with lead singer Matt.

Hello, how are you?

I'm great thanks, yourself?

Good thanks!  It's the question everyone hates, but could you tell us a little bit about your music and your influences?

We are a three piece from Ayrshire that draw influences from indie, pop, rock, country and folk in terms of genres and artists such as Queen, Muse, Talking Heads, Ray Charles, Fleetwood Mac and The Dave Matthews Band

What's your song writing process like?

Its not always a set way.  Sometimes I (Matt) have a song written or an idea I take to the band.  Sometimes it starts out as a jam at practice.  In general so far the songs have been written first then taken in and worked on as a band.

What could we expect to see from a live show?

First and foremost energy!  We always put everything into our performances.  We tend to play upbeat songs and try and keep the tempo and momentum up throughout the whole set.  We like to get people dancing and clapping along.

If it were all to end tomorrow, what would you say has been your greatest achievement?

If it was all to end tomorrow - I would say playing T In The Park was pretty great, something most bands and I think all Scottish bands aspire to do.

At Scottish Fiction we focus on new Scottish music, how do you as a band view the Scottish music 'community'?

I think it's strong.  People really seem to get behind you and overall the artists we have encountered have been very pleasant.  I think its great that there are so many bands in Scotland you can see making it and breaking through - testament to how strong the music scene is at the moment.

What other Scottish artists would you recommend to the Scottish Fiction readers?

I'm a huge fan of Stanley from Aberdeen.  Davey Horne is also brilliant.  Really into Miniature Dinosaurs from Stirling.  Recently came across Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward & Fisher and was really into their stuff as well!

Thanks for speaking with us, would you care to share a joke with us?

Thanks for chatting to us!   Eh... What did the leper say to the prostitute?   Keep the tip


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